Broken Bonds
by Great Angemon
Summary: For so long he'd been left alone in his house, alone with all of the broken bonds of love. But now he's not alone. Written for leahisadinosaur's "Write a shower scene" challenge at the Review's Lounge, too. Enjoy. If I get enough positive feed back, I might continue this, but I think it'll work as a stand alone oneshot. Oh, and AU. Big time.
1. Chapter 1

Broken Bonds

By GreatAngemon

Breathe in… breathe out… breathe through the pain. That's it, just keep breathing.

And that's all I did, the entire day. Breathe. I said hello to a few family members, shook some relatives' hands. I had a piece of cake. But the only constant through my day was the breathing. In… out… in… out…

That was the hardest day of my life. People had told me that it would be the wedding. Or the day my first kid was born. But those were happy days to me. The happiest days of my life. This… this was just something I had to endure. I had to endure, because Tetra would have wanted me to be strong.

And so I breathed. And breathed. And breathed.

That was five years ago, and still I need to breathe sometimes. I just stop whatever I'm doing and breathe… in… out. So that's been my life ever since Tetra died. All alone, in my house full of broken bonds and promises.

Her sister, Zelda, moved in with me. She had felt the same pain I had. She had been closer to her sister than anyone.

And so, we lived together. Not in a, "She shacked up with him, the hussy," sort of way, but more in the, "Oh, they must be really lonely," sort of way.

It wasn't anything big. She had one room, I had another. We shared everything else. The kitchen, the living room. Everything.

"Link," she calls to me from the living room. "Link, where're the new batteries? The remote's dead."

I walk out of my bedroom, smiling slightly. "You bought them," I say. "You did the shopping. Why do I have to find everything?"

"Because you're oh so good at it," she jokes. I open a drawer on the island in the kitchen and pull out a few batteries.

"Here you go," I say, tossing them at her. They cascade onto her head.

"Aahh!" she says, covering her face. "That wasn't very nice."

"Isn't my job to be nice," I say sweetly. She sticks her tongue out at me.

"I'm going to go take a shower," I tell her, walking down the hallway.

"Uh-huh," she says distractedly, fiddling with the remote. "Have fun."

I open the door to the bathroom and pull a towel out of the cabinet. Pulling the curtain of the shower back, I pull off my shirt. As I turn the hot water knob, I pull off my pants.

Then, as I step into the tub, I feel it. The undeniable urge to stand still and breathe. And so I stop moving. I just stand there. But it passes, and I pull the curtain closed. Then a new feeling, one I haven't felt in five years, springs up in me.

The urge to cry. And it's as irresistible as the urge to breathe. And I break down. I fall down onto my knees, and the tears pour, flowing through the gates that had held them back for five long years. I know I scream, but it's all I can do. Scream and cry.

I hear a soft knocking on the door. "Link?" I hear Zelda say gently. "Is everything alright?"

I try and pull myself together. "Its fine," I manage to choke out. "I just stubbed my toe." But she knows I'm lying. She opens the door, making me extremely glad I'd managed to convince Tetra to get the curtain with the pattern, not the clear one.

"Link, what's wrong?" she asks.

"Nothing?" I say, poking my head out of the curtain.

"Link, tell me what's upset you?"

"I'm not upset."

She gazes shrewdly at me. "Link, your eyes are all puffy. I know you've been crying."

"I told you, I…"

"It's about Tetra, isn't it?" She doesn't say it loudly, or in an, "I know what's wrong, so shut up," way. It was soft; gentle, and understanding. And I turn off the water. She slings my towel over the curtain rod, and sits down on the toilet seat.

As I put the towel around my waist, she says, "I know how much you miss her. I miss her too. But…" her words catch in her throat, until she manages to croak, "…she's gone."

I stare at her, but I can't bring myself to say anything. I walk to the bathroom door, but as my hand closes over the door knob I feel her arms close around me in a hug.

It wasn't a, "Let me help you," hug. It was deeper than that. It was a, "Please help me too," hug. And so I hugged her.

And she starts crying. I cry, my tears running into her beautiful golden hair, so reminiscent of Tetra's.

"Link," she sobs. "Link…"

I just hold her, unable to say anything. It had been so long. So long since I'd let any of my true emotions out. So long since I'd had anyone I could talk to.

"I miss her so much."

She looks up into my eyes and slowly brought her face towards mine…

**To be continued?**

**Authors note: Also, this is my response to leahisadinosaur's challenge at the RLt.**


	2. Chapter 2

Broken Bonds

Chapter Two

By GreatAngemon

I am holding Zelda, who was still crying. We continue looking into each others' eyes, and I feel myself leaning forward. And then my lips make contact with hers and I feel alive for the first time in five years.

The feelings are reminiscent of the times I'd kissed Tetra, but at the same time, they're new, unexpected, and wonderfully different. We hold the embrace, kissing, locked in passion, until a surge of guilt shoots through me.

I break away from her and step back, though she is still clinging to my neck. "Link," she moans desperately. But I take her arms from around my neck and leave the bathroom. I hurry down the hall into my bedroom and lock the door behind me.

I hear her soft footfalls on the floor outside my room. I hear her heavy breathing, but I ignore it, pulling on pants and a shirt. At last, fully dressed, I reopen my door to see Zelda sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Link-" she starts, but is cut off as I open the front door and leave. I climb into my car, turn the key, and drive away.

At last, after hours of driving I pull back into the driveway. I shut the engine off, and walk up to the front door. As I open the door, I notice that the house is unnervingly silent. "Zelda!" I call. "Zelda, where are you!"

I search the house, and find her curled up in a ball on the couch. "Zelda," I mutter, pulling her into my arms. As I walk into her room, she moans, "Link…". I lay her down on her bed and cover her up with her comforter.

Just as I turn to leave, I feel a strange shiver run though my body. I turn, but Zelda's still asleep in her bed.

When I finally walk into my own room, I lock the door and lean against it, the wood cool against my back. "Tetra… what's going on with me…" I mutter. Sighing, I throw myself into bed, drowning my sorrows in a deep, hopefully dreamless sleep.

When I wake up the next morning, I smell bacon cooking. But I decide to grab my clothes and hop into the bathroom connected to my room first. Turning on the shower, I jump in.

Ten minutes later, I come out with a pair of black pants on, but no shirt. I never wear one when I eat breakfast. "Morning, Link," I hear Zelda say from the stove. I give a small wave in her direction, and sit at the table. I pull a pan of scrambled eggs over to me and pile them on my plate.

Just as Zelda sits down, I finish my helping and stand. I notice her give a half glance at the droplets of water rolling off of my chest.

"I've got to get to work early," I mutter, hurrying to my room.

As I grab a shirt out of my closet and pull it over my head, I hear Zelda say, "Link, are we okay?"

Turning, I put a strained smile on my face. "What do you mean?"

"Well, since yesterday, you've been acting kind of distant."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say as I slip on my watch. "I haven't been acting like anything."

Zelda gives me a stern glare. "Alright," I sigh. "You want to know the problem?" Zelda nodded."Tetra. Tetra's the problem."

Zelda stands there, stunned, and I say, "I loved her. I still do. And you two were so close, and now… you and me…" I trail off. Before she can open her mouth to speak, I manage to slip past her, into the hall and away.

"Link," she calls. I freeze with my hand on the door knob. "Link, I know how you feel," she says from behind me. "I know you feel like you're betraying her, but you're not. She's dead, and she'd want you to move on."

Suddenly, I realize that not only sorrow has been boiling in me since I'd kissed Zelda, but also anger. Anger at Zelda, and anger at Tetra, and especially, anger at myself. And I let it pour out over her. "How do you know what she'd want!" I scream at her. "How could you possibly know what she'd want! She's dead! Nobody can ever tell us what she'd want, or how she feels or what she thinks or anything!

"She's dead, Zelda! She's dead… and she's not coming back." The last words escape my lips as a whisper. Zelda seems stunned by my sudden outburst, and before she can say a word, I storm out of the house.

I get into the car, but don't turn it on. I sit there, seething, and in my fury, I slam my fists down on the steering wheel.

When I finally get home, I go straight into my room, and throw myself into the bed. When Zelda comes knocking, asking if I'm alright, I ignore her, and she soon leaves. Not long after, I drift off to sleep.

**End of part 2**


	3. Chapter 3

Broken Bonds

Part Three

By GreatAngemon

"Link…" The voice rings out in the darkness. The hauntingly sweet, and familiar, voice. Tetra's voice.

"Tetra! Tetra, where are you?" I call. But all I hear are her girly sweet giggles. I try running, but my legs are like stone; heavy and immovable.

I keep calling for Tetra, and at first I don't notice what's happening around me. My surroundings are changing, reshaping. Even as the giggles grow louder, I recognize where I am. It's the diner where Tetra and I first met.

And I realize that I was sitting at one of the booths. Only, it can't be me, because I'm watching myself sit there. But this moment, I remember it so well; but before I can fall into reminiscences, the scene plays out before my eyes.

"Link." An old friend had just sat down across the bench from my younger self. "You ready to get to the game?"

Ah, yes, that's what we'd been doing that day. We were going to go watch a baseball game. We were catching a quick meal so we wouldn't have had to buy food at the game. But just as my past self opened his mouth to speak, a young woman of unsurpassable beauty passed our table.

But Sheik doesn't notice. He's watching my younger self expectantly, waiting for an answer. But my own eyes were following the same young woman as my past self's. Then, the young me turns his gaze to Sheik's expectant eyes. And he slips his ticket onto the table.

"Sorry, Sheik," he says. "I've got to go see about a girl." And he slides his ticket across the table. Sheik's eyes fill with disappointment, and then he nods. And my past self stands and walks to the booth where the girl had sat down.

"Hi, I'm Link," I hear him say. And then everything goes black again. I try and move, but my legs don't obey. And soon my surroundings begin whirling, colors mixing together. And then I realize that I'm standing on the top of a hill, a solitary tree with bare branches at the very top. And Tetra and my past self are climbing to the top, a picnic basket in my own hands.

It was our first date.

"Wow!" Tetra exclaims as they reach the top. "Wow, Link! It's so beautiful up here."

In spite of myself, I grin as my past self's face glows red. He mutters something indistinguishable over the wind of the hilltop and unfolds a picnic blanket, putting a few stones from the ground on the corners to keep it down.

The two of them eat, laughing and giggling and talking, and it just makes the hole in my heart deepen, reminding me of what I'd had.

And then, as the sun sinks to the horizon, Tetra grabs my younger self's head, and moves her lips toward my own. And she kisses me.

The two kiss for a few moments, and then Tetra pulls away. Before my younger self can say anything, everything goes black once more.

Before I know it, I'm in a church. The pews are filled, with faces that I know. My aunts and uncles. Mine and Tetra's parents. And up at the altar I'm standing, Sheik standing at my left side. And then a soft Irish sounding tune plays out. Everyone's heads turn, and I see Tetra walking down the aisle.

Her golden hair flowing gently down her back; her tan skin; her fierce, determined eyes; all these things that I had loved about her being shown to me now, at our wedding.

When finally she approaches, the minister begins talking. "We are gathered here today, to bring these two together in bonds of love and marriage before the Gods…"

But his voice fades and everything turns black. Suddenly, I'm in a hospital room. A very familiar hospital room. "Sir!" a voice says urgently behind me. I crane my neck to look around.

I see my younger self is holding Tetra's hand. Tetra is sweating, her nightgown sticking to her body. "Sir, we need to get her to the delivery room now!"

"Link, don't you dare leave me!" Tetra warns. But my younger self's hand slips out of hers, and they wheel her bed out of the room. My past self sits down in the chair by the window. Then everything changes, and my younger self is sitting in a chair next to Tetra's bed.

In his arms is a small bundle of pink blanket. It's Aryll, mine and Tetra's daughter. "She's beautiful, isn't she?" Tetra's voice is croaky as she speaks to my past self. But I know he won't answer. He's too busy staring at the beautiful little baby in his arms.

And then, without the interim blackness, I'm standing on soft grass. All around me are tombstones protruding from the ground. The one on the left of the one my past self is kneeling in front of says;

'Bongo Go; Born January 10, 1966; Died November 23, 1998; The Man That Could See The Truth'

The one on the right says;

Dampé Keep; Born March 31, 1950; Died June 19, 2011; I'm Not A Bad Guy, Really.'

But neither of our eyes is on those ones. My eyes are fixed on my younger self, who's still kneeling in the rain, staring blankly at the tombstone directly in front of him;

'Tetra Gale; Born June 1, 1978; Died November 30, 2013; Life together was our journey, but, As for our destination... The wind will guide us!'

And then everything changes again. I'm standing in the middle of… nothing. I'm standing on a small spit of land in the middle of nothing. As far as I can see, in every direction I'm surrounded by water. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

I spin around, and there, standing beneath the lone palm on the island is Tetra. I stagger forward and fall into her arms. "Tetra," I whisper, my voice choked.

"Yes, it's me," she says.

"But you're… you're… you're dead."

Tetra laughs. "Yes, I'm dead," she says.

"What are you doing here? What are you doing in my dream?"

"I'm here because of you." Her voice is solemn as she stands there, looking out over the oceans. "Why did you yell at Zelda?"

"Because she… she…" I try to say, but then it hits me. I don't know why I yelled at Zelda. "She's trying to stop me from loving you."

"Ha!" Tetra laughs. "You and I both know it'd take a lot more than Zelda to stop you loving me. But you and I both know that that isn't what she's doing." I turn away, trying to hide my face. "Link." Her voice is gentle.

"She isn't trying to stop you from loving me. She's trying to get you to love her too."

"I can't!" I shout. "Tetra, don't you get it? I can't love her. If I love her, it means admitting the one thing to myself that I can't."

"Well, you need to admit it, Link," she says, taking my hand in hers. "She loves you. And if you don't believe that, just look at all the things you saw here."

I think about them. I think about each painful memory, and then I realize something; Tetra and I weren't the only things in each memory.

When I met Tetra, Zelda was in the booth with her. When we were getting married, Zelda was standing next to me. Zelda had held my hand in the hospital room while Tetra had given birth. And she had had her arm wrapped around my shoulders when I'd been at the funeral.

"Tetra." My voice comes out as a whisper.

"Yes, Link?"

"I'm in love. Again."

"I know. And I couldn't be happier for you." I look up and see her eyes glistening with tears.

"But I'll always love you."

"And I you, Link." She gives me a small kiss, her lips just brushing my cheek. And then I wake up, sweating in my bed.

**End Part Three**

**A/N: Challenge time! If you can correctly answer all of my questions, I'll give you a review, on a story of your choice.**

**1. What was my reasoning for Tetra's birthday and deathday?**

**2. Where did I get the "I've got to see about a girl," line?"**

**3. What was the one thing that Link couldn't admit to himself?**

**If you can answer all of these questions, without Google, I'll give you a review. If you only get one or two, I'll give you a hug.**


	4. Chapter 4

Broken Bonds

Part Four

By GreatAngemon

As I lay in bed, I realize two things. One; the leaden, hollow feeling in my chest is finally gone. And two; I'm in love with Zelda. 'Farore, help me,' I think, before sitting up and stretching.

As I clamber out of bed, I hear a soft knock on the door. "Link?" I hear Zelda say softly outside.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." I surprise myself with the answer, but stride to the door and unlock it anyway. The knob turns, and Zelda steps through. I grab the shirt I had worn the previous day from the chair at my desk, and pull it on over my head.

"What's up?" I ask, sitting on the chair.

Zelda sits down on the edge of my bed nervously. She rings her hands in her lap. I just sit, patiently waiting for her to begin speaking.

"Link," she finally says, looking down at her lap. "I think I should probably move out."

"What?!" I ask in shock. This wasn't at all what I'd been expecting. "You want to-"

"No," she says, "I don't want to. But, ever since I kissed you, things haven't been right between us, and I feel like everything'll be ruined with us if I stay."

"Zelda, please, don't do this," I say, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her hands. "Please, I can't be alone again."

She pulls her hands out of mine, and says, "I'm sorry, Link, but I have to. I feel like you don't want me here."

She stands and walks to the door, but stops with her hand on the knob. Her head turns back to me, and I see her eyes are brimming with tears. "I really am sorry, Link." And she leaves the room.

The next day, I see Zelda packing all of her stuff in her room. Trying to persuade her to stay, I say, "Zel, you don't have to leave."

"Yes I do." Her voice is choked.

"Zelda, please listen to me," I say. "I don't want you to leave. Please stay."

She stays where she is, and is silent. I sigh and leave the room.

The next day, Zelda packs her bags into her small car. She comes up to me, and holds out a small key ring, with a key on it. "Here's my key to the house," she says. When I don't reach out to take it, she grabs my wrist and gently places it in my palm.

"Zelda..." I say. But she ignores me, and starts walking to her car. Just as she opens the door, I say, "Zelda!" She looks sadly over at me, but gets into her car. "Zelda, I-"

"Don't, Link," she says, cutting me off. "I'm not staying."

"But I-"

"I'm leaving." Her voice is filled with sadness, but is still firm. "I'm sorry, Link."

"Can I say one thing before you leave?"

She stands up out of her car. "What?"

I walk up to her, wrap one arm around her, bring my face an inch away from hers, and whisper, "I love you, Zelda Regale." And I close the last gap between our lips and kiss her.

She's stiff at first, but after a moment, her muscles loosen, and she kisses me back. We stay together for another couple of moments, until Zelda pulls her lips away.

Resting her forehead against mine, she breathes heavy for a moment, and then says, "I love you too."

After a few weeks, Zelda and I are living happily in the same house again. She cooks and cleans while I'm at work, and I keep her company while I'm at home. The only difference is-

"Link, where are the batteries?"

"Didn't you just put everything from the store away a few minutes ago?"

"So?"

"So, you should be able to find them, since you just put them away."

"Would you just find them for me?" she asks sweetly.

I grab a pack of fresh batteries out of a drawer in the kitchen and pull a few out. "Here you go," I say, tossing them to her. They cascade over her head, and she shrieks loudly.

"Link!"

_On second thought, not a lot has changed_, I decide as I walk over to sit next to her on the couch. She grins evilly as she fits the new batteries into the compartment.

"Zelda," I say warningly as she picks up the old, dead batteries. I start to scurry away, and I hear Zelda's giggles as she chases me through the house. "Zelda! Stop it!" just then, I trip over a fold in the carpet, and fall on my stomach. I roll over, and Zelda falls right on top of me.

"Gotcha," she whispers, dropping the batteries on my forehead. I smile and kiss her briefly on the lips.

Zelda and I have been dating for almost three months now. And I've decided something very important.

I pick up my phone at the office, and punch my home number in. it rings loudly against my ear, and then, "Hello?"

"Zel."

"Hey, Link," she says.

"Do you want to go out for dinner with me tonight?"

"Sure."

"I'll be home at six. Take a quick shower, and we'll be to the restaurant at seven. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, and remind me later that I have an important question to ask you."

"Kay."

"See ya, Zel."

"Bye Link."

I put the receiver back in its cradle, lace my fingers behind my head and lean back. The rest of the day seems to fly by, until I find myself stepping inside the door to my house.

"Let me take a quick shower, and we'll be out of here, lickity split." Zelda giggles, and nods.

Twenty minutes later, we're in the car. Another thirty, and we're outside our favorite restaurant. When we get seated, I bury my nose in the menu, and I hear our waitress say, "What can I get you to drink?"

"We'll both have champagne," I say, before Zelda can say anything.

"Li-iiiink," Zelda whines playfully. "I didn't want champagne."

"Too bad, I already ordered." She kicks my shin lightly under the table. When our waitress returns, I order a roasted Cuckoo fillet.

"And I'll have the Superb Soup." Zelda's favorite dish. The waitress takes the order to the kitchen, and i stare at Zelda.

"Hey," she says, her face brightening suddenly. "Wasn't there something that you wanted to ask me? You said it was important."

"Oh, yeah." I pull a small velvet box out of my pocket, and feel my palm sweating nervously. I slip the box back into my pocket. "Eh, I'll ask you later."

We're silent for a few minutes, until the waitress returns with our food. I excuse myself, and hurry to the restrooms at the back of the restaurant. I throw the door open, and breathe heavy for a moment, resting my hands on the sink.

"Pull it together, Link," I mutter to myself. "You've done this once before, you can do it again."

'_But what if she says no?_' a nasty voice asks in the back of my head.

I open the collar of my shirt, and turn on the faucet. Cupping my hands, I place them under the stream, and then throw the cool water on my face. I dry the water, button my collar, and then stride out of the bathroom.

As I walk back to the table, I pull the small velvet box out of my pocket once again. Then, when I get back to the table, I kneel down next to Zelda, open the box, and say, "Zelda, will you marry me?"

It seems like the whole restaurant falls silent as I stare at Zelda, whose blank face is just looking at the small diamond ring. I become nervous as the seconds stretch into a minute, and then…

I fall back as Zelda wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me on the mouth! When she pulls away, she pants, "Of course I will, Link."

The entire restaurant claps as I smile at Zelda. And, strangely, it seems to that someone familiar is sitting alone at one of the booths. Someone very familiar. With a head of blonde hair, and a roguish smile.

As I smile once more, I see her mouth, "Good luck, my love."

**The end**


End file.
